1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing seeds for polycrystalline silicon manufacture. The apparatus holds silicon rods to be cut into seeds which can be used as silicon core rods when manufacturing polycrystalline silicon.
2. Description of Related Art
The Siemens process is a known method to manufacture polycrystalline silicon using a manufacturing apparatus such as a reacting furnace with an arrangement of numerous seeds of silicon core rods that are heated to manufacture cylindrical rods of polycrystalline silicon. A raw mixed gas of chlorosilane gas and hydrogen gas is introduced into the reacting furnace. The raw mixed gas contacts the heated seeds of silicon core rods causing hydrogen reduction of the raw gas and silicon to precipitate on the seed surfaces by thermal decomposition. The resulting reaction produces cylindrical rods of polycrystalline silicon.
Seeds used in manufacturing polycrystalline silicon are made from silicon or polycrystalline silicon. For example, in Japanese Patent Application No. 4-362092, rod-like and plate-like seeds are made, while in Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-112662, polygonal seeds are cut from a polycrystalline silicon rod.
When manufacturing thin seeds from a cylindrical silicon rod the seeds are cut in this manner: the silicon rod is first sliced along its axis into a plurality of plates, and these plate-like members must then be further cut in an axial direction into thinner widths, usually square in cross section.